Psychics and Grieving Parents are A Toxic Mix
Our grief makes us easy prey
A few months after my daughter died, I joined a Facebook group filled with parents who, like me, were desperate for a sign from their dead child. There were over four thousand members in this group. It was a bereft corner of the internet filled with people who had lost children of all ages and in every imaginable way.
The group was a safe place for grieving parents to share signs we may have received from our children — or our hope of receiving signs — without judgement. One of its main purposes was to connect psychics and mediums with bereaved parents. This was why I’d joined.
Back then, I was always looking for signs. I’m still open to signs, though I don’t actively look for them the way I did in the beginning. I consider myself an atheist. I was unprepared for the deep spiritual crisis I experienced when Ana was dying. I had no way to convincingly reassure her that her soul would survive death because, quite frankly, I wasn’t sure it would.
I told her that there is a place I believe all our souls go to after we die, a place of joy and solace. I wanted this to be true, but she knew me better than anyone. She saw the doubt in my eyes. She was fifteen and too old for fairytales. It still hurts my heart that I couldn’t reassure her the way she…
